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‘When?’ She hid her disappointment with a big smile.
‘In a few minutes.’
In a few minutes!
Eleanore smoothed her hands down her thighs. ‘You just got back.’ A sick feeling started to spread out from the pit of her stomach like the venomous tentacles of a blue-ringed octopus, smothering what was left of her happy mood.
‘Business never stops, you know that.’ He dug his hands into his pockets. ‘But I’ll try and fly to New York next weekend,’ he said briskly. ‘Will you be there?’
‘Yes. At least I think so.’ Eleanore felt dazed but kept up the facade of having it all together. ‘I haven’t worked out all the details of the job offer with Isabelle yet.’
Lukas nodded. ‘Then I’ll call you first.’ He turned away, took a step and then turned back. His hand reached out and stroked down the side of her face and Eleanore’s toes curled inside her boots.
Tell him how much last night meant to you. Tell him you can’t wait to see him again.
Her chin came up. ‘See you.’
When he walked away without a backward glance she knew two things. One, Isabelle was right and she had indeed fallen hopelessly in love with him, and two, he had no intention of calling her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ONLY SHE WAS WRONG. He did call. He called to say he couldn’t make it.
Eleanore sipped her white wine from a long-stemmed glass and automatically moved on to view the next painting of an up-and-coming New York artist as someone made space in front of it.
When he’d called he’d asked about her job. Asked how she was. Even asked about Lucky. Then he’d promised to see her the following weekend but he’d had to cancel that as well. Not that he’d called this time. He’d just sent an apologetic email. Which was why she was filling in for Isabelle at a corporate event by herself. She’d been hoping he would fly in and they’d put in an appearance together and then go back to her place. Which made her feel foolish because, really, she was just extending the inevitable which was that he would eventually move on and she would return to her original goals. Of which number two—an investment property—had just moved up to the number-one spot.
Unfortunately the very idea of hunting for any type of property right now made her want to throw herself under her covers and stay there till next year. Somehow after she’d left Russia her goals had lost most of their urgency.
She knew what it was, of course. It was Lukas and coming to terms with the fact that she had finally fallen in love and it was with a man who had pursued her right up until the moment she stopped being a challenge. Not that he’d made any secret of that, or any promises to the contrary. No, this sense of misery that seemed to follow her around like her own personal rain cloud was her own fault.
She’d known what he was like; heck, she’d warned Lulu away from him... And... A thought pierced her as true as an arrow shot from an Olympian’s bow. If he had asked her to stay the night of the gala opening she would have jumped at the chance. A silly hormonal impulse that would have stood her well for all of maybe two weeks before he had grown tired of her and moved on, leaving her not only heartbroken but jobless as well.
No, this was better. Much better.
A wrenching sob nearly broke free from her throat and Eleanore pressed the heel of her hand against her breastbone to stem the pain.
She’d told Lulu that men and careers didn’t mix. This was just more evidence of that. So okay, she’d had one sensational night with him and it had meant so much more to her than it had to him. She would get over it eventually because what choice did she have?
‘Eleanore Harrington?’
Eleanore turned to find a well-dressed New York executive beside her. He was just a fraction taller than her and stocky, like a boxer, but he carried himself like a man born to wealth. A banker perhaps. Or a property tycoon. They were thick on the ground at gallery openings. ‘Yes.’
He offered her his hand to shake. ‘My name is Peter Bournesmith from Bournesmith Real Estate and I’m very pleased to run into you.’
Eleanore shook his hand. So not quite a property tycoon, but close. ‘Why is that?’ she asked, feigning interest. She had to be interested in something, didn’t she?
‘I visited the Krystal Palace last week and I was very impressed with the scale and vision of the project.’
She noticed that he had blue eyes. Not as bright as Lukas’s. More a deep-ocean colour. But dull and... She pulled her thoughts up and gave herself a mental rap across the knuckles. Took a deep breath. ‘Thank you but it wasn’t all my doing. A fair bit of the plans for the hotel were in place before I came on board.’
